Legendary Hollywood actor and filmmaker Robert Redford has died aged 89, with his representatives issuing a statement that confirmed the Oscar-winner “passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved. He will be missed greatly.”
Born in Santa Monica, California in 1936, Redford began his career on Broadway in the late 1950s before becoming a regular fixture on TV with guest star roles in a host of popular shows in the early 1960s. He would also make his big screen debut in 1960 with Tall Story, starring alongside fellow debutant Jane Fonda in the first of several pairings between the two screen icons (followed by 1966’s The Chase, 1967’s Barefoot in the Park, 1979’s The Electric Horseman and 2017’s Our Souls at Night), and was the recipient of the Golden Globe for Best New Star for 1965’s Inside Daisy Clover.
Redford would gain international stardom alongside Paul Newman in 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and cemented his place as one of Hollywood’s biggest and most bankable stars throughout the next decade with the likes of Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Sting (which earned him his only Oscar nomination for Best Actor), Thee Days of the Condor and All the President’s Men.
Redford would make his directorial debut with 1980’s Ordinary People, beginning his career as a filmmaker with the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture; his other directorial offerings would include A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show (earning a second Best Director Oscar alongside a Best Picture nomination), The Horse Whisperer, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Lions for Lambs, and The Company You Keep.
He would also continue to appear on screen throughout his career, with credits in the likes of – to name but a few – Out of Africa, Indecent Proposal, Spy Game, Captain America; The Winter Soldier, A Walk in the Woods, The Old Man and the Gun, and Avengers: Endgame, his last on screen appearance.
In addition to his film work in front of and behind the camera, Redford was also one of the founders of the Sundance Film Festival, along with the Sundance Institute, a not-for-profit organisation designed to support independent filmmakers and artists.
